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Yes, the situation with North Korea is very worrying, with the direst of consequences to all of mankind a seemingly very real possibility, and it seems we are on a collision course with history, but it also seems that this kind of thing is inevitable because of a flaw in our (collective) thinking, and I don’t know if there is anything we can do about it. Trump (et al.) aren’t the cause, he’s (they’re) the result. As long as we allow (and encourage, and teach to our children) (that) irrational beliefs should be the basis for nearly every aspect of our decision making, on a daily basis, at every tier of society, and at every personal level, then wild, uncontrollable, narcissistic, psychopathic personalities will always ‘float to the top of the political food chain’, and (now, with nuclear proliferation) we shall ever be upon the precipice of worldwide destruction. (Bummer.) We are upon a ‘cusp of choosing’, and I don’t know how it is going to turn out, but I am convinced that these circumstances we are facing today (and/or those to follow) are either gong to eventually destroy our species, or bring about a new and better way of rational thinking, in our everyday lives, a new and more efficient (and egalitarian) paradigm, which rightly moves away from a daily ritualistic investment in ancient, brutal Bronze Age mythologies, and adopts a more rational, rubbish-discarding, forward-looking, problem-solving view, with the good of all mankind, and with a view to being benefactors of life on Earth in general and to becoming caring and conscientious custodians of the planet. (Good luck with that.) In any case, should we fail, Life will go on, without us. I remain hopeful, not for humanity, as such, but for the planet. I doubt very seriously that it would have cause to miss us. Not that I don’t love us, because I do. I rally, rally do.
~ Tim Burchfield
8/9/17

It’s like a second language,
an open door to that ‘other’ me,
a primal path to epiphany
(both profound and profane),
an irresistible force of knowing Nature,
the eye of the storm: an hurricane.
~ Tim Burchfield
8/4/17

Decided it would be remiss of me to send the boy into the world without knowing any knots, but he wasn’t interested (at all), so I decided, instead, to add to my own rope repertoire. I pretty much, already knew (more or less), all the ones in the Boy Scout Handbook, “Be prepared!” (The Boy Scout Motto) (Does my nerddom know no limits, eh? MmmmmmmmmmmNo. No signs of flagging enthusiasm to this day!)
What’s the old saying?
“Better to know a knot and not need it, than to need a knot, and not know it.”
(Try saying that, ten times, fast.)
(And, yes, I tried that one on the boy. Not impressed. Oh, well.)
But some knots are so purposeful and elegant and ‘job specific’, when you find one like that, that you simply must learn it. And found one, I have, and it’s a beaut: the ‘Hitching tie’!
Need to secure your canoe to a tree? It’s just the thing. Or to tie your stringer so’s your ‘catch’ doesn’t swim away? Ditto, compadre.
Remember, in the old westerns, when dusty cowpokes would tie their horses to a rail by the watering trough before sidling up to the saloon, and how the knot they used seemed to take no time at all? Yup, you guessed it, the ‘Hitching tie’!
It has even worked its way into our language. How about, “Wanna get ‘hitched’?” Or, “Hey babe, let’s tie the knot!” (Who could resist such an offer?) If not for for this lovely little knot, it’s likely you would have never heard these colorful sayings.
Hence, the ‘Hitching’ tie.
One simply must know this elegant little knot.
So easy to do, and, what’s more, it ‘comes out’, like a dream, too.
Got a piece of rope? A two-footer will do. Now, get along, and have a bit of fun. You can thank me later. I’m pretty sure you’ll want to.
~ Tim Burchfield
8/2/17the ‘hitching’ tie

You might find it ironic
for me to describe Chronic,
a story about death and dying,
as ‘a slice of life’.
In fact, throughout,
the question of ‘why?’,
and ‘why me?’,
seems pervasive,
and unanswerable,
which it is, except, for me,
‘and why not?’,
‘and why not (me)?’,
keeps rolling through my head,
instead.
Is it just me, I wonder,
or do others see this life
as an equal opportunity
entity,
or journey,
or what have you,
and that moral judgements
as to good or bad outcomes,
or of success or happiness,
and whatnot, cannot
truly be assessed
until after the final curtain falls,
so you’ll never know it yourself,
truth be told, friend,
being dead and all?
So, it’s a question for family,
and society,
and friends,
and ‘former friends’,
and what have you,
to make the call.
And honestly, who cares
what other people think, anywhoo?
So, don’t complain;
choose to be happy,
or fulfilled, or engaged,
or grateful, or enthralled,
or stoic, or philosophical,
or selfless, or starry-eyed,
or evangelical, or ‘evolved’ –
just between we two,
it’s up to you –
whatever floats your boat.
It’s a one way ride,
and frequently fabulous.
Enjoy the view.
Oh, and on a final note,
the movie (with Tim Roth),
is a humdinger, too.
~ Tim Burchfield
6/3/16

Such an interesting article. I also live with depressive states, and almost word for word, can identify with the descriptions of how it feels. I still go through it, but once I discovered my ‘other’, and became a friend, an advocate, a soother-listener-protector to that child-like, super-sensitive, super-creative, intuitive (did I mention ‘child-like’, oh, yes I did…) ‘entity’, which resides, side-by-side, inside of me (but speaks only in dreams, and emotions, and whispers to me in musical phrasings, and compulsions, and desires, and cravings – basically, all of the so-called, ‘id’ stuff), and learned how to take the time to really ‘be’ with this ‘other’ and talk to him/her/it rationally, to commiserate, and to listen – really listen – and to make plans, and provisions, and promises – to make things better for he/she/it (and too, to really work to keep those promises, at least a little every day), then, slowly, but surely, I came not only to understand that these ‘waves’ of ‘depression’ are really the feelings of despair and hopelessness that any normal person would feel, if he/she/it had no ‘voice’, no power to affect change, no acknowledgement, and felt no appreciation (and little love), but that there is never any reason to feel ‘lonely’, because (if this is a real ‘state of being’ – and I am convinced that it is), one is never alone, and that the process of ‘loving’ really does, start with you/me, see? (Does this make sense/can you ‘relate’?) Hand to heart, this has been a true ‘revelation’, and a life-changing epiphany, for me. It has been about six years since I came to this awareness, and my progress has been substantial and continual, and empowering (happily).
This is the basis of my own particular ‘bi-cameral mind’ hypothesis. I really should write a book on the subject. What do you think, friends? Here is the article.
On depression: What you should know if you love someone with high-functioning depression:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/love-high-functioning-depression_us_591b3519e4b07d5f6ba6af00

In the Amazon rain forest there is a living tree; within its bark lives a parasitic plant which needs no sun – it draws its nourishment from its host, and is not visible, or even evident, but for a short time, once a year, when thousands of tiny yellow ball-shaped ‘flowers’ appear on the trunk of the host tree. On the nights when the yellow ‘buds’ are flourishing, tiny caterpillars come and eat the tasty buds. Each caterpillar has an accompanying ant who, when she gently taps on the caterpillar’s back with her antennae, the caterpillar produces a drop of sweet elixir, which the ant slurps greedily. They have a mutually agreeable relationship. The caterpillar, in turn, derives protection from predators, and the ant, a veritable moveable feast.
And then, betimes, along comes a butterfly. It’s wings are gray, but for a single brightly colored yellow ‘dot’, toward the back – a convincing ‘match’ to the yellow ‘flowers’ on the tree: as ‘camouflage’, apparently.
An entire ecosystem, within one tree. That’s what I learned, yesterday.
Oh, and, one other thing: if you are walking your dogs with the girl, and you see a big bug in her hair, politely pick the bug out before she knows what you are about, rather than pointing and shouting, “Bug! Bug!! BUG!!” (Three times fast.)
Yes, I learned that, too, alas.
~ Tim Burchfield
5/17/17